Austin Trees, the CEO and Founder of SoloHomes, is bringing a fresh approach to the Austin real estate market by leveraging technology to streamline the home buying and selling process. With nearly a decade of experience in the industry, Trees’ background spans both commercial and residential projects, including partnerships with tech giants like Apple and Roku. However, his latest venture, SoloHomes, focuses on empowering individuals in the residential real estate space, offering a platform designed to eliminate the stress typically associated with home transactions.
According to Trees, the idea for SoloHomes was born from a realization that, despite technological advancements in real estate, many of the financial benefits were not being passed down to buyers and sellers. “I saw that in the commercial space, digitization and fee compression were trends already reshaping the market. But in residential real estate, the same advances weren’t making life easier for consumers,” said Trees. This gap motivated him to create a platform where buyers and sellers could have more control and save significantly on fees.
The Austin housing market became the perfect testing ground for SoloHomes. As a rapidly growing, tech-savvy city, Austin offers a unique mix of potential customers who are open to adopting new technologies. “The Austin market is a buyer’s market right now, which is rare in many parts of the country. This gives us a unique advantage as we navigate the challenges of getting traditional real estate agents on board with what we are doing,” Trees noted.
One of the key differentiators for SoloHomes is its rebate system. Buyers receive 50% of the commission that SoloHomes collects from the seller, which typically amounts to 1.5% of the home price in Austin. Sellers are charged a flat fee of $5,000, irrespective of the property’s value. This transparent pricing model stands in stark contrast to the traditional percentage-based fees that most agents charge, giving consumers more financial breathing room.
“Buying a home is stressful enough without having to worry about high fees, a lack of advice, or dependency on third parties,” explained Trees. “Our mission is to remove that process anxiety entirely. With SoloHomes, buyers and sellers can handle transactions on their own, with guidance from our dedicated agents and an intuitive platform designed to make the process as seamless as possible.”
The platform offers features such as an AI-powered assistant that provides users with real-time pricing advice, negotiation tips, and detailed market data. SoloHomes’ offer generation tool takes inspiration from platforms like TurboTax, transforming complex forms into simple, easy-to-understand interfaces. This ensures that users can quickly submit offers, compare counteroffers, and close deals—all without the traditional delays that come from waiting on a real estate agent.
For Trees, the future of SoloHomes is expansive. He envisions the platform evolving into a one-stop shop for all real estate needs, including mortgage brokerage, title services, and even insurance. “We want to scale vertically and offer everything a buyer or seller needs from start to finish, making it even easier for them to save time and money,” said Trees.
SoloHomes is not just about financial savings; it’s about giving consumers choices. “Nobody knows your needs better than you do,” emphasized Trees. “Our tools are designed to give people the freedom to navigate the home buying or selling process independently, with a little bit of guidance when needed. If they decide they prefer working with a traditional agent, that’s fine—but we think they’ll see the value in what we’re offering.”
As the Austin housing market continues to evolve, SoloHomes is poised to become a key player, offering a tech-forward, consumer-first approach to real estate that could reshape the industry. With plans for future expansion and ongoing improvements to the platform’s AI and user experience, SoloHomes is on track to redefine how Texans buy and sell homes.
In Trees’ own words: “Buying and selling a home isn’t hard. You can do it on your own with the right tools—and save thousands of dollars in the process.”
